Archie Comics CCO Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa talks Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Afterlife With Archie, and much more…
The last time I spoke with youAfterlife with Archiehad just come out and it was an immediate sensation.
Here we are a year later and we have a companion book withChilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Will other Riverdale characters be flowing in and out ofSabrina, or was that a one-time thing?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa:No, it is not a one-time thing.
Betty and Veronica and some of the other Riverdale girls are definitely going to appear in the book regularly.
Do you think a third horror title would be going to the well one too many times?
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It would depend on what the book was.
Archie and his gang are the leads ofAfterlife, Sabrina has a very small part in it.
She cameoed in the first issue and then she was in issue 6, and shell come back.
But shes not the focus ofAfterlife, and Sabrina is obviously the focus of her book.
It doesnt feel like these are cannibalizing each other.
I think as long as they make sense and the stories feel different.
It feels like they deserve their own books.
What can you tell me about the upcoming story arcs for Afterlife with Archie and Sabrina?
Its all crystallizes around her 16thbirthday, which goes horrifically awry.
The second arc is called Witch War.
So thats going to be an epic magic war.
That will take us through issue 12, and amongst those were going to intersperse some one-issue only stories.
One is Sabrina spends a night in a haunted house on a dare.
Its going to be an homage toThe Haunting.
InAfterlifewe are doing Betty R.I.P.
Issue 7 is going to be a big Thanksgiving issue, which Francesco is drawing right now.
Issue 8 is a Christmas issue.
Then 9 is a Reggie Mantle issue.
Obviously its not the sanctuary that they originally think it is.
Lets just say its almost aChildren of the Corncult where only teenagers can live.
The last issue ofAfterlife with Archiereally ramped up the possibilities of the series.
It went from zombies to huge Lovecraftian horror.
From the very beginning we wantedAfterlifeto be a horror book, not just a zombie book.
Which is why we had Sabrina and the Necronomicon.
We wanted it to be supernatural as opposed to science fiction like a Dilton experiment gone awry.
We always knew from the get go that wed go there.
So every issue Francesco would ask is this the Lovecraft issue?
and I would respond not yet.
And then it ended up being issue 6, and we will still continue it by the way.
Is there any kind of horror genre that you want to get intoAfterlifethat you havent yet?
Or is there anything that you think would be going to far?
Going to far…it hasnt occurred to me.
I personally dont love torture porn.
As a horror fanatic its not my bag, so I dont think were ever going to go there.
That might be one bridge too far.
Thats a really good question.
I think we would, absolutely.
Weve talked about it.
But never say never.
Is there any chance of getting those old stories compiled as a digital exclusive?
Weve also talked about doing them as a big trade.
With a new Francesco Francavilla cover?
Youd get that book!
Oh in a second.
Switching gears a bit, lets talk about Kevin Keller.
His solo title is winding down, so what are Archies future plans for the character?
A big spotlight on Kevin is coming very soon.
Recently Archie has announced everything from a comic written by Lena Dunham toArchie Meets Predator.
As Archies Chief Creative Officer, what types of stories are you seeking?
What are you looking for from talent you want to bring to Archie?
From first contact they loved the idea.
So I think its finding those people who have enthusiasm and passion for the characters.
To me its that passion.
Finally, whats the status of theArchiemovie?
We have a very big announcement but we cant quite make it yet.
It will be in the next week or so.
That will answer that question completely.
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